UK Border Agency forced to hire extra staff after making job cuts

Britain’s border agency is having to hire extra staff after slashing its workforce too quickly last year, a damning report reveals.

Theresa May has ‘very serious questions’ to answer (Picture: PA)

Performance slumped after it lost 1,000 more workers than planned, forcing it to take on new people and increase overtime pay.

Instead of slowing staff cuts when an automated system was delayed by a year and ran millions over budget, the agency sped the changes up, the National Audit Office says.

‘Performance in London and the south-east has come under pressure due to staff shortages,’ it adds.

‘Loss of focus, poor governance and a tendency towards optimism bias in planning, delivery and reporting have contributed to the current problems.’

The slapdown comes as the agency faces its biggest test yet with a record number of people expected to visit Britain during the Olympic Games from next Friday. The agency and border force have come under fire after passengers were forced to wait hours to pass immigration checks.Labour last night claimed the two organisations were at ‘breaking point’, with relief staff, some with as little as three days’ training, drafted in at major airports.

Immigration spokesman Chris Bryant said staff losses had ‘seriously undermined performance’ and home secretary Theresa May had ‘some very serious questions’ to answer.

‘Why is she continuing to cut the number of staff at UKBA and Border Force when both agencies are at breaking point?’ he asked.

The Home Office said: ‘We’re under no illusions about the scale of the challenge in transforming the UK Border Agency and Border Force.’